The Turkey Baster Gang (gobble gobble)

[Oilyoilyoilgob]

Just starting a new thread on self insemination before our first one locks down!

39 pages of highs and lows and THE most supportive group you could wish for if you’re starting or on a self insemination journey.

💚✨ good luck ✨💚

@Bizawit I’m sorry to hear about your AF 😩 the worst timing but now try to think positive for the next cycle. I think I’m CD7 so still a long way to go for me! We had a lovely Christmas even tho it was very quiet and just us.

@primrosechill sorry to hear you feel you might be out but you never know. Fingers crossed for you.

@MrsKin90 how are you?? You must be close to your AF date, have you tested? X

@eloiseislost glad to hear you had a lovely Christmas day. Hopefully those are good signs for you 😊 if obsessing helps a little then go for it.

@Bizawit my LP seems to shift a bit. I think up to two days different is "normal". And I use BBT and it still changes but on average is 14. Give BBT a go though! If nothing else it can be really interesting and give some reassurance that you're covering the right times.

@Lori23TTC you'll be due to ovulate not far into the new year won't you? 😊

I am 13dpo today. I tested yesterday just in case it would make it a special Christmas day but no positive for me! I've had a couple of short lived cramps and headaches for two days so could go either way! 😊 Other than that I feel completely normal and nothing exciting to report. Only a few days to find out. 🤞

@MrsKin90 oh I got it mixed up I’m 7DPO not CD7- so I should know around New Years if we are or not. It’s good you haven’t come on tho on DPO13 - fingers crossed! Xx

Haha I do that all the time!! Hoping you get a bfp for new years 🤞❤️

@MrsKin90 It is really all in my head but yesterday I'd be 9 weeks and the plan was to have an scan last week to check for heartbeat and if all was OK we would announce. So I think I'm coping by building a hope fortress out of nothing! 😁
Sorry about the BFN, it's never nice to see one of those, even though some do turn into BFPs the next few days! I hope that's the case for you!

@Lori23TTC We are close DPO-wise, the second week of the 2WW is the worst but it'll be over soon, hopefully with some good news! 🤞🏼

Hello ladies, may I please join? Longtime poster but I have NC'd. My DP and I have one DD (a complete miracle considering where we're at now). DP has delayed ejaculation which has only worsened over the years, I always knew in my heart that we never had any hope of TTC a second child naturally. I tried broaching SI with him before but he always shut the conversation down. Last month I broke down after yet another failed attempt and said that I wanted to draw a line under more children and go back on the pill as I couldn't cope with trying anymore. He then brought up SI off his own bat so this month was our first time to try it. I'm 6dpo and positively giddy at the idea that we at least have a chance this month, trying desperately to keep my expectations in check and prepare myself for another long haul. It is lovely to come across such a supportive thread. Baby dust to you all xx

Welcome @Bluey18 and thank you for sharing your story! You will find a lot of support here. 🙂 My DH also has delayed ejaculation, we are working on it, but it doesn't look like anything is going to change anytime soon, so we started SI in September. I got pregnant on the 3rd attempt but ended in MC. So it does work, that's the positive I'm holding on to from this experience! We started SI again and I'm 5DPO today, like you, I'm feeling hopeful and happy that we are at least doing something! Fingers crossed for you and lots of baby dust! 🧚🏼‍♀️

@eloiseislost Thank you for the lovely welcome! I'm so sorry to hear you had a MC but I'm glad you are feeling hopeful. I know it feels so good to be proactive about it at last!

@eloiseislost I really do hope you're okay. It's such a hard time of year anyway but with your miscarriage on top of that it can't be easy. I hope you get a bfp this cycle.

@Bluey18 welcome 😊 my hubby has DE as well. It's lovely and positive your DH finally agreed to SI and you're feeling positive!! Fingers crossed for you it happens quickly 😊

I've stopped taking my BBT after 6dpo for my sanity but here is a picture of my resting heart rate at 14dpo. It usually goes down the day before AF. It rose like this last cycle and my period started three days late so I feel like it's teasing me. It's gone so high up now though 🧐 if I get my period I'm going to be so angry 😂 I am having cramps though and have headaches for three days so I won't hold my breath 🤨

Looking forward to some positive news for us all! The new year isn't far away 😊

@MrsKin90 sorry you got a bfn - like someone else said, it’s never nice to see that lonesome line, even if it’s not yet definitive - but hoping that your heart rate is a good sign!

@eloiseislost swnding you lots of love this december. On christmas day, I couldn’t help but think that if my Marxh pregnancy has stuck, I would have been celebrating with a little bubba and how different this holiday would have been. Then again I also realised I would have been given birth as London was about to go into tier 4 and how incredibly stressful and lonely that would have been! 😬 gotta look on the bright side, always.

AF did the polite thing at least and didn’t visit during christmas. I’m still cramping so expecting her to arrive any minute now, though! Big love to you all and hoping for some good news soon xxx

(Sorry for a gazillion of spelling and grammar mistakes - typing on my phone while multitasking haha)

@MrsKin90 I'm actually better than I thought I would be, thank you! 😘 Don't get me wrong, it sucks so much that I'm no longer pregnant but I'm trying, and mostly succeeding, to look to the future rather than the past. I'm sure the copious amounts of cheese and chocolate helped! 😆
You RHR chart looks amazing! This was mine from the previous cycle, I'm convinced it's as good as BBT in alerting me to what's happening. (It also sadly indicated my MC with frightening accuracy.) I'm very hopeful looking at yours, keeping everything crossed! 🤞🏼 🧚🏼‍♀️

Welcome @Bluey18! My DH also has DE- this thread has been amazing in making me feel like we are not alone with this problem and also giving us hope that we will have a chance to conceive still with SI.
Wishing you lots of luck with this first cycle
@MrsKin90 and @eloiseislost I had no idea RHR could be tracked and used when TTC- very interesting!
At risk of sounding like a total imbecile... how are you taking your RHR? Do you do it manually or do you wear a fit bit or similar to do it?
I feel like atm my RHR is constantly high because my anxiety has been sky high through all of Christmas- unfortunately it always seems like this during the TWW, no matter how hard I try to keep it down.

Thank you all . Halfway through 2ww today and telling myself I'll wait until 14dpo to test. We'll see if I can stick to that haha. Best of luck everyone!

@Bluey18 I think we must be same DPOs then! I always tell myself I'll wait until I've missed AF and then it gets to 10/11DPO and the cheapie test strips just call my name too loudly [grins]

@Makingnumber2 You need a smartwatch or fitness band that has continuous heart rate monitoring. I have an Apple Watch and I think @MrsKin90 has a FitBit. The Fitbit is much better at calculating RHR I have to say, because it recognises naps and excludes them from the measurements. My Apple Watch readings are a bit all over the place, but I can still see the overall trend.
I would not advise anyone to get a fitness band just for the sake of tracking RHR for fertility purposes, as BBT is still the most reliable method to confirm ovulation with a wealth of research to back it up. There are some studies emerging regarding RHR and fertility but they are limited and few at the moment. Even though I am confident I recognise a pattern for myself, I'm still an anecdotal case and what works for me may very well not work for others.
Having said all that, since I got my Apple Watch I've been waaaay more active and I exercise more, so it's been a good motivator! If you want to be more active and at the same time do some of your own research on RHR, you could have a look at smartwatches/fitness bands, it's probably worth it! 😊

Thanks @eloiseislost that's really helpful info I think I'll move to BBT from next cycle as I haven't tried that yet and have a BBT thermometer in the house and ready to go. Is there any point in started BBT tracking from now (CD21)? Or is it best to wait til CD1?

@Makingnumber2 I would wait until CD1, but there's no harm in starting now either! Some women notice very erratic temps during their period so they start temping after AF is gone, but for your first cycle I recommend temping every day from the start, so you get to know your own patterns. Best of luck and if in doubt, post your charts here, I know I love a good chart chat! 😆

@eloiseislost Thank you so much! It is great to have BBT Guru on the thread!!

Hi all, welcome @Bluey18. @MrsKin90 and @eloiseislost that's really interesting about the heart rate. I've got a garmin, so will have a look at what it says about my rhr. Lately though I do sometimes feel like my heart is racing, for no particular reason.

Sorry to jump in about the thermometer, but I have literally just bought a bbt about an hour ago, so thank you @eloiseislost for the advice re when to start using it!

My CB opk has shown a flashing smiley (estrogen) for about a week now, but no solid smiley (lh peak) yet. My cheapies haven't shown an lh spike yet either. I know I shouldn't be worried, but got that little niggle in the back of my head that no lh means no ovulation, so that's been fun! 🙄 I figure if nothing else, the bbt will help build up the picture for when we eventually get to go to the clinic...

Hope you're all ok! I'm off for a walk soon round a park with my best friend, so that will be really nice x

@Makingnumber2 Far from a guru, but I love charts and graphs and making sense out of them; there's something oddly reassuring about it -but it might just be my funny brain! Happy temping! 🌡

@primrosechill I honestly didn't feel too bad about the bfn 😊 I'm happy to hear that AF hasn't started for you yet. Are you keeping yourself distracted?? Hopefully she stays away!

Thanks @eloiseislost 😊 I'm hoping my RHR is a good sign, but not feeling very positive about the headaches I'm getting. I don't usually get them before AF but they're not a pre-bfp symptom either!
And you're right, I do have a Fitbit! It's really interesting but also very individual. I always have an increase after I ovulate but a lot of people seem to have a rise, then ovulate, then have a big dip immediately after followed by rises, so it's not stuck to standard "rules" like BBT! I still use BBT to confirm O. Almost everyone has a big decrease when AF is starting though so that seems to be quite universal.

So excited for everyone entering their second week of their tww and for those ever so close to testing!

Hope everyone had the best possible Christmas.

I'm just going into tww. Hoping to stay a lot more chilled as last month I went a bit ott with testing
I've tried recording bbt this month too but I never wake up at the same time and can't bring myself to set an alarm on my days off work so the temperatures are all over the place.

Hello,

Hope it is ok to join? I am new to
Mums net and found some threads via google.

So pleased and relieved there are people in the same boat as us... it is so isolating and lonely! My H2B and I have been trying for over 18 months, we took ‘a break’ from TTC sept - Dec due to the stress of it all. We are trying again in a couple of days as ovulation is soon.

We are awaiting further investigations via the NHS and on a long wait list. We are going to give home insem a go.. for a number of reasons. everything is bought and will be trying for the first time in the next few days. We have bought pre seed but heard good things about conceive plus too?

Hope everyone is ok and had a good Christmas x

@MrsKin90 You're right, RHR is nowhere near as established as BBT, I track both trying to see if they "agree" and so far I've been impressed. But I would never rely solely on RHR. Speaking of which, it dipped today, so did BBT, and I have a few cramps and nausea so I think AF is closing in. 😞
To cheer myself up, I decided to buy a backlit, Bluetooth BBT thermometer for the next cycle! 😆

@Sydney1986x Welcome! Lots of information here and everyone is so lovely, always willing to help and offer emotional support. ❤️ Best of luck!